Chapter 104: Carrot

Zheng Fa felt he had been played.

He looked at Zhang Shijie, feeling her smile on her face was somewhat malicious.

Zhang Shijie seemed to be dangling a carrot before a donkey, looking somewhat deserving of a beating.

"This cultivation technique... does Shijie have it too?"

"I won it from you in a bet." Zhang Shijie said without hiding: "Only after I read it did I understand why Shishu Pang never loses a bet."

"Why?"

"Because cultivating this technique requires a spiritual material called Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tears." Zhang Shijie tossed the jade slip to Zheng Fa: "Within the entire Jiushan Sect, only Shishu Pang has a Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo. As for trying to buy it in the market—besides being expensive, this spiritual material is extremely rare; I didn't manage to buy it either."

"..."

Zheng Fa caught the jade slip and was also speechless.

The Jiushan Sect's high-ups are all full of tricks!

If he really agreed to True Person Pang and obtained the "Void-Piercing Spiritual Eye" but had no spiritual materials, wouldn't it all be in vain?

"I have also studied this technique for some time." Zhang Shijie shook her head: "With my knowledge, I also feel this Spiritual Eye technique is extremely marvelous, very suitable for Talisman Masters to cultivate, and should be of great use to you. But to master it, one absolutely cannot bypass the Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tears."

Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, but he was not disappointed in his heart.

"No wonder Shishu Pang specifically chose this technique as the wager." Zhang Shijie shook her head: "He wanted me to exchange my 'Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method' for his Hundred-Year Purple Bamboo Tears. He really cares for his junior brother Zhou Qianyuan."

Zheng Fa was a bit confused.

"I was originally a bit hesitant." Zhang Shijie looked at him and said: "However, exchanging for two people's quantity is something to consider. The premise is that you must cultivate the 'Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method' well."

"Ah?"

"I need to let Shishu Pang inspect the goods."

"..."

"Otherwise, I cannot ask for an exorbitant price."

"... Cultivating the 'Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method' to completion can double the cultivation speed." Zheng Fa said, confused: "Wouldn't Shishu Pang be tempted by such an amazing technique?"

"Double?" Zhang Shijie's face showed confusion as she looked at Zheng Fa: "Who said practicing the 'Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method' can double the cultivation speed?"

"After I condensed the Upright Shadowless Talisman, my cultivation speed increased by a full ten percent; ten talismans wouldn't that make it double?" Zheng Fa said in surprise.

Did I think too optimistically?

"..." Zhang Shijie looked at Zheng Fa, silent for a long time, and only after a long while said softly: "When I condensed my first Yuanfu, my cultivation speed only increased slightly, less than half of ten percent. Even after forging the Yuanfu Dao Foundation, my cultivation speed only increased by thirty percent."

The expression on her face was very complex; if Zheng Fa had to translate it, it could only be—

Is there someone more capable of cheating than me?

"..." Zheng Fa thought for a moment, suddenly realized, and concluded it was still his own fault for having too strong a soul; a stronger soul attracts more corresponding talisman patterns—even a genius like Zhang Shijie would not be stronger than him in this aspect.

"You continue practicing!" Zhang Shijie clapped her hands and said to Zheng Fa: "I will ask Shishu Pang for more Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tears."

"This... what if Zhou Shidi cannot make such great progress like me?"

"Did you lie? Can't the 'Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method' double your cultivation speed?"

"No, but Zhou Shidi probably won't have this effect." Zheng Fa was a bit worried about Shishu Pang's reaction if he discovered their false advertising.

"That's because he is stupid."

"..."

"Remember, geniuses need no explanation. If they can't do it, it's because they aren't genius enough."

Zhang Shijie said with experience, patting Zheng Fa's shoulder: "You cultivate well, and the two of us will earn a batch of spiritual materials from Shishu Pang!"

Zheng Fa felt something was wrong; I cultivate and you take the money?

No, even this carrot has to be planted by me, this donkey, myself?

"Then Shijie, you..."

"Do you dare to bargain with Shishu Pang?" Zhang Shijie asked.

"I don't dare."

Modern times, at Bai Lao's house.

Zheng Fa and Bai Lao, the three of them, gathered around the desk.

On the desk lay the "Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method" that Zheng Fa had copied.

The Immortal Cultivation Study Group's first collective study session begins!

Bai Lao had dark greenish-black circles under his eyes, but his face was full of expectation.

Tang Lingwu's beautiful eyes shifted, also carrying a hint of excitement.

Zheng Fa could understand the emotions of the two—after all, it was Immortal Cultivation!

But after the two finished reading the "Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method," Bai Lao's face fell.

"Just this?"

"Just this." Zheng Fa nodded lightly.

"It's too little; I can't see anything from it."

Bai Lao placed the "Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method" on the table, seeming to feel he had expected too much for nothing.

Zheng Fa's heart agreed with his words; this cultivation technique was conceived by the Jiushan Ancestor on a whim, and Zhang Shijie initially perfected it.

Unlike other cultivation techniques of the Jiushan Sect, such as the "Red Sky Art," which have been passed down through generations and contain numerous annotations and analyses.

The "Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method" actually adds up to only a little over a thousand characters.

"It is too little." Zheng Fa nodded slowly: "Many questions are not explained clearly."

"Why do talismans exhibit the characteristics of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements?"

"More importantly—why is it feasible to forge the Yuanfu Dao Foundation using the logic of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements?"

This was the most direct doubt he had after obtaining the "Foundation Establishment Method of Talisman Dao."

After all, Shijie Zhang is from the Xuanwei Realm; for her, using Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements to explain talisman scripts is extremely normal and requires no further questioning.

But Zheng Fa is not like that—modern education inevitably forces him to ask several "whys."

"... It still cannot be seen now." Hearing Zheng Fa's question, Bai Lao Tou thought for a while, frowned, and said, "The sample size is too small; we must at least look at other talisman diagrams."

Shijie Zhang only needs to use her own Yuan Spirit Dao Body to conduct experiments.

But the three of them have much more to consider.

First is whether the Yin-Yang and Five Elements classification method is feasible, whether all talisman diagrams can be classified this way, and only then can they explore their essence.

"It would be best to use a computer." Bai Lao Tou looked at Zheng Fa, said this one sentence, and then fell silent.

Zheng Fa understood his meaning; processing such a large amount of data, a computer is the best choice—but this means exposing the secret of cultivation to another person.

"However, the person who wrote this 'Foundation Establishment Method of Talisman Dao' has indeed verified one of my previous doubts." Bai Lao Tou suddenly said, "The Yang Yuanfu you showed me before—there were too many."

"?"

"Since they can be classified using Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, then most likely, Yang Yuanfu is still not the most essential thing about talisman diagrams."

"Yang Yuanfu can be divided?"

"Yes, this is the most direct explanation." Bai Lao Tou nodded.

This was also one of Zheng Fa's conjectures—but now the problem is how to verify this conjecture.

The three discussed for a while and still felt that to solve this problem, they naturally had to rely on topology.

On the other hand, to handle such large data, they still had to rely on someone who understands computers.

As the three spoke, Zheng Fa saw Bai Lao Tou's head nodding up and down.

"What's wrong with you, old sir? Didn't sleep last night?" he asked with some curiosity.

"... Last night I was addicted to studying and slept a bit late." Bai Lao Tou wiped his face with both hands and explained.

Seeming to feel a bit ashamed of dozing off while studying, he also shifted the blame: "And then there's this thing—it's boring! Just looking at it makes people want to sleep!"

He pointed at the "Foundation Establishment Method of Talisman Dao" on the table.

"Boring?"

"Wasn't your previous human body power generation quite exciting?" Bai Lao Tou pouted, "Biological electrical energy, magnetic field rotation, one punch explodes a star!"

"Wait, what did you, old sir, study yesterday?"

Zheng Fa felt something was off, glancing sideways at the old man.

"Ahem, comics!"

"..."

"I saw you carrying electricity on your body, thought you were showing us those things, so I got curious and searched online." Bai Lao Tou said a bit embarrassedly, "Don't say it, those comics are actually quite good!"

"You old sir are quite trendy!"

"Of course!" Bai Lao Tou proudly tilted his head back, then said with some dissatisfaction, "Look at the stuff in this book again, drawing and drawing, it's all those talisman diagrams, not spectacular at all!"

"..."

Zheng Fa glanced at Tang Lingwu; Tang Lingwu wasn't sleepy either, but her expression wasn't as excited as before.

After all, reading a "Foundation Establishment Method of Talisman Dao" was truly reading nothing for the two of them.

"How about, you electrify me again?" Bai Lao Tou suddenly said expectantly, "Let me experience the wonder of cultivation again?"

... I suspect you, old sir, are using the name of cultivation to satisfy some unspeakable hobbies.

But Zheng Fa did understand Bai Lao Tou's meaning—they had some more beautiful and wonderful imaginations about cultivation, and absolutely not just an ordinary book.

Simply put, the carrot isn't fragrant enough, and the donkey wants to go on strike.

Zheng Fa's mind moved, and the Upright Shadowless Talisman inside his dantian trembled slightly.

"Hmm?"

Bai Lao Tou and Tang Lingwu watched with wide eyes as Zheng Fa, who had been sitting beside them, suddenly vanished, leaving only an empty chair.

"Zheng Fa?"

Bai Lao Tou shuddered all over, and the whole person woke up in fright.

A look of surprise shone in Tang Lingwu's eyes; her finger curiously reached toward Zheng Fa's original seat, poking and prodding here and there.

"You can't touch this!"

Zheng Fa revealed his form, grabbed Tang Lingwu's finger in panic, and looked helplessly at the other party whose face was exploding red.

This girl, why does it feel like her curiosity is a bit too heavy?

"Zheng Fa! This is..."

"The boring thing you mentioned."

"Where is it boring?"

"Not as spectacular as in the comics."

"Not spectacular, but it's practical!" Bai Lao Tou said excitedly, "When I was young, I just thought how good it would be to be invisible!"

"How good?" Zheng Fa looked at Bai Lao Tou; this person seemed overly excited.

"I was poor when I was young! I thought if I could be invisible, I'd go to the other side of the ocean and become a great thief!" Bai Lao Tou fell into reverie, "Those bank vaults, wouldn't they be at my free disposal?"

"The other side of the ocean?"

"Of course, we certainly won't go within the country!"

Zheng Fa's tone was a bit complex: "You, old sir, although you want to be an outlaw, are quite patriotic."

"Actually..." Bai Lao Tou's face turned red, suddenly saying a bit embarrassedly, "I was young then, and hadn't married... you know, young people have strong fire. I also thought if I could be invisible, I'd go take a look at the women's bathhouse..."

Tang Lingwu, standing nearby, widened her eyes and couldn't help but move her chair a bit, getting further away from Bai Lao Tou.

"I was just thinking!"

"A bathhouse on the other side of the ocean?" Zheng Fa asked.

"Domestic ones! What's there to see abroad!"

Zheng Fa nodded and praised sincerely, "You truly are very patriotic."

Slap!

Tang Lingwu slapped the bank card onto the table again.

"I want to learn this!" Her eyes sparkled.

"You want to go explore a bathhouse too?"

Zheng Fa was stunned; this person didn't seem short of money, did they?

"Sometimes, I want my mother not to see me..."